Data collection even from incognito mode: Google wants to finalize a solution in the US

Google wants to end legal dispute over data collection in incognito mode with a settlement The company entered into a preliminary agreement with the plaintiffs in the United States. Court document As of mid-December, it is now known. Google is likely to skip the February talks. In 2020, some users sued Google and awarded $5,000 per victim – a total of $5 billion (Brown et al v. Google et al, Ref. 5:20- cv-03664).

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Indirect data collection

In the plaintiffs' view, Google promised users that Chrome would not collect data in the browser's incognito mode, but did not keep this promise. Through website plugins such as Ad Manager and Analytics, Google undoubtedly collects data from users browsing in their browser's incognito mode. According to the plaintiffs, Google integrates this data with the existing user profile, and it shows more relevant ads. Among other things, Google defended itself with the argument that when users using incognito mode open a new tab, Chrome warns them that the activity is visible to visited websites.

In July, the U.S. District Court for Northern California denied Google's request to dismiss the case without a trial. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rodgers wrote that Google's application was based on the assumption that anonymous users consented to data collection. However, Google does not explicitly communicate this to its users, so there can be no question of consent, it says. Conclusion From July. It is not yet known what Google and the plaintiffs have now agreed to.

(Chivo)